Gail P. Duke Senior Residence

Organization Name: Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens

Project Title: Gail P. Duke Senior Residence

Project Location: Brownsville, Brooklyn

Project Description:
The Catholic Charities Gail P. Duke Senior Residence is a 13-story, 137,000 square foot building with on-site supportive social services for residents and features a 10,000 square foot, 160-seat Older Adult Center on the ground floor. With 141 residential units and one superintendent’s unit, the building is a 100% senior affordable residence, with 35% of the building reserved for formerly homeless seniors with severe mental illness (SMI). Services are provided through the New York City 15/15 Supportive Housing Initiative sponsored by the Department of Homeless Services in the Human Resources Administration and the New York State Office of Mental Health. The balance of units are reserved for low-income seniors making up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The programming for the Gail P. Duke Older Adult Center, which Catholic Charities relocated within the Brownsville community, includes daily hot meals prepared on-site in the all-electric commercial kitchen, games and activities, fitness classes, and case management.

Community Impact:
In 2018, Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens was awarded a site assemblage along Livonia Avenue, between Mother Gaston Boulevard and Christopher Avenue, a prime corridor in Central Brooklyn, through the NYC HPD Brownsville RFP. As the sole developer for Livonia Site C3, CCPOPD repurposed nine adjacent City-owned parcels and purchased one private vacant lot to provide intergenerational, affordable, and safe housing in Brownsville. Following engagement with the neighboring Nehemiah Homes Association, extensive review with Community Board 16, and ULURP approval in 2022, CCPOPD financed the Livonia C3 project with support from the HPD SARA program and other NYC sources. The project was dedicated in Fall 2026 as the Gail P. Duke Senior Residence and provides quality housing for older adults to comfortably age-in-place, with all-electric heating, cooling and hot water systems, Passive House (PHIUS) certification, along with EnergyStar and Enterprise Green Communities sustainability programs. The project also utilized CDBG-DR funds to incorporate Areas of Refuge, with a sizable back-up generator for cooling and other emergency needs, and to serve as a neighborhood hub during climate risk events.

Organization Description:
Since 1976, Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation (CCPOPD) has served as the real estate development affiliate of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. CCPOPD has developed over 45 projects, providing 4,000+ units of affordable housing throughout Brooklyn and Queens. As the largest faith-based provider of affordable housing in New York City, the CCPOPD portfolio is comprised of low-income independent senior, formerly homeless and family housing, with holistic supportive services and property management.

Team Members:

Magnusson Architecture and Planning, Bright Power, Ettinger Engineering Associates, CityScape Engineering, AKRF, ARMA Development Consultants, Forsyth Street Advisors, Monadnock Construction